Daley credits the success
of USC's programs to their teaching philosophy. "What we really try to
do is to look constantly at the user experience with games -- how do you
design games so that, like films and like television, people want to
engage with them," Daley says.

The Princeton Review -- in
conjunction with GamePro magazine -- started ranking video game design
programs last year after recognizing a surge in the number of options
available at schools.

"As there is more notoriety around the list
and the idea that game design is a viable option for going to school --
not as a major but as a career afterwards -- it's adding a lot of
credibility to the field," says David Soto of The Princeton Review.